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C. L. Bryant

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C. L. Bryant
Born
Cleon Lewis Bryant

(1956-03-28) March 28, 1956 (age 68)
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Alma materFair Park High School in Shreveport

Louisiana State University in Shreveport
Bishop College

Tampa College
Occupation(s)Clergyman
Former radio talk show host
Political partyRepublican since 1998
SpouseJane Carline Pruitt Bryant
ChildrenSon Lewis C. Bryant

Three daughters

Twelve grandchildren
Parent(s)Lewis C. and Elnola Goode Bryant

Cleon Lewis Bryant (born March 28, 1956) is an African-American Baptist minister and former radio and television host based in his native Shreveport, Louisiana.

When he formerly resided in Garland, Texas, Bryant was the president of the NAACP chapter there.[1]

Background

C. L. Bryant is the only child of the late Lewis C. Bryant, a World War II veteran, and the former Elnola Goode (1917-2005), a native of De Soto Parish. Both of his parents were long-time employee of the Shreveport Club at 410 Travis Street. They are interred at Carver Memorial Cemetery in Shreveport.[2]

He was one of the first black children to attend Lake Shore Junior High School in Shreveport at the beginning of school desegregation in the late 1960s. He graduated in 1974 from Fair Park High School in Shreveport, along with the Fox Sports announcer Tim Brando.[3]

Bryant was subsequently educated at Louisiana State University in Shreveport and two defunct institutions, the historically black Bishop College in Marshall, Texas and the business school, Tampa College in Tampa, Florida. He received a master of theology degree from Shreveport Bible College and was ordained into the ministry by the late Reverend E. Edward Jones of Shreveport, a civil rights activist who was from 1986 to 2003 the president of the black National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., and pastor for fifty-seven years of the Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Shreveport. Bryant has spent nearly four decades in the ministry, including a missionary stint to the Amazon section of South America. He has also worked for twenty-five years in the field of finance. His current church affiliation is the inter-denominational Word of God Ministries in Shreveport with pastor James A. McMenis.[4]

Career

Bryant has served in several church positions, beginning in Longview, Texas, where his struggling congregation received financial assistance from the late Shreveport philanthropist Virginia Shehee, a former member of the Louisiana State Senate.[5] At the time of his mother's death in 2005, Bryant was pastor of the Cedar Hill Baptist Church in Grand Cane in DeSoto Parish south of Shreveport.[2]

His C. L. Bryant Show aired from 2015 to 2017 on weekday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 Central Time over KEEL Radio in Shreveport. KEEL said that Bryant left the station to pursue other opportunities.

Bryant is a senior fellow at FreedomWorks in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Republican Party, which he has defended against allegations of racism.[6][7]

Often at odds with liberal leaders in the African-American community, Bryant in March 2012 criticized Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton for their roles over protests stemming from the controversial shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida.[8]

Bryant is the founder of the group, "One Nation Back to God", which has a website. In 2012, he produced and released the independent film documentary, Runaway Slave, "a movie about the race to free the Black community from the slavery of tyranny and progressive policies." [8][9][10] He has also penned the 2010 non-fiction book, Lead Us to Temptation, Deliver Us to Evil.[11]

On January 19, 2016, Bryant endorsed U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for the Republican presidential nomination.[12] He then endorsed the eventual nominee and election winner, President Donald Trump and defended Trump against allegations raised by his critics on the radio program.

Personal life

Bryant is wed to the former Jane Carline Pruitt. They live in Grand Cane, Louisiana and have four children and eleven grandchildren.

The couple formerly resided in Tampa, Florida; Mrs. Bryant previously lived in Inglewood, California.

References

  1. ^ Leaders with Ginni Thomas: Rev C. L. Bryant, Daily Caller, 23 October 2011
  2. ^ a b "Elnola G. Bryant". Findagrave.com. Retrieved February 20, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ "Cleon Bryant (Class of 1974)". classmates.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  4. ^ "C. L. Bryant". FreedomWorks. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  5. ^ The C. L. Bryant Show, July 13, 2015
  6. ^ "Michelle Obama Rouses NAACP Before Vote Condemning 'Racist' Elements of Tea Party", ABC News, 2 July 12, 2010
  7. ^ David A. Patten "Blacks Call for Democrat Carson to Resign Over Tea Party 'Hanging' Slam", Newsmax, 31 August 2011
  8. ^ a b "New York Post's Trayvon Martin Front Page Calls Hooded Lawmakers 'Race Hustlers', Huffington Post, 03/27/2012
  9. ^ "Runaway Slave". Internet Movie Data Base. April 30, 2015.
  10. ^ Carter, R.J. "C.L. Bryant: Breaking the New Chains with "Runaway Slave"". CriticalBlast.com. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  11. ^ Lead Us to Temptation, Deliver Us to Evil. Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire, England: RAS Publishing. 2010. p. 102. ISBN 978-0615427904. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  12. ^ KEEL (AM) Radio, January 19, 2016
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